Abdulraheem Bin Hassan Okaz/Saudi Gazette MADINAH – Authorities will restart crackdown on all residency and labor violators immediately after the July 3 amnesty is over. In a recent letter sent to the Council of Saudi Chambers, the Ministry of Labor said that in coordination with the Ministry of Interior it will act tough against the violators including employers, expatriate workers and individuals after the end of the office hours on Wednesday, July 3.
The letter said teams from ministries of labor and interior within intensive and regular inspection campaigns immediately after the grace period. The letter, sent by Deputy Minister of Labor Dr. Mufarrij Al-Huqbani. was addressed to Abdullah Al-Mubti, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saudi Chambers. Al-Mubti forwarded the letter to all chambers of commerce in the country urging the employers to use the remaining grace period and rectify the status of their workers during the stipulated time. Recently, several chambers of commerce and employers in different sectors have sought an extension of the amnesty citing logistic and administrative difficulties in completing status correction procedures for their employees. In seeking the extension, the employers also mentioned the overcrowding in the Passports Department and other concerned offices. The warning letter from ministry indicates the government's determination to cleanse the state of all illegals within the stipulated period. The letter contains all details related to the procedures for rectification, the facilities and exemptions provided by the concerned authorities so that the employers and workers have no difficulty in going about their correction procedures. Among the procedures mentioned in the letter is allowing expatriate workers to change their profession to any of the jobs except those restricted for Saudi nationals, according to the need of the employer and the worker's qualifications. The responsibility for the worker's capability to work in the assigned profession lies with the employer. The profession can be changed electronically and easily by visiting the ministry's website. Visiting the labor office is necessary for professions in the medical field and engineering, the letter pointed out. Diplomatic missions of several countries have been assisting their nationals in finding jobs according to their skills and as per professions mentioned in their residency permits. Hundreds of Saudi companies have participated in job fairs organized by Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Philippines and Indonesian missions in different cities.
